Seedless Fruits and Vegetables Don't Do Us Any Favours

Seeds contain the book of life. They have all of the genetic information necessary to create a new life. But what happened to all of the seeds? One word... convenience. We have bred our foods to make them more convenient by eliminating the most important part of the food.

Seeds contain the book of life. They have all of the genetic information necessary to create a new life. Thus, they contain various constituents that ensure their survival in nature. These powerful constituents have fantastic benefits for us when we consume them.

Grapefruit Seeds

The bitter seeds of a grapefruit contain extremely potent anti-microbial compounds. To use this therapeutically, the seeds are processed to make grapefruit seed extract (GSE). GSE is particularly effective at killing yeast such as candida albicans.

The extraction process of a constituent in the apricot kernel called Laetrile (also called vitamin B17) was developed by Dr. Ernst Krebs, Jr., who pioneered the use of laetrile in cancer therapy. Substantial amounts are actually found in peaches, cherries, berries, buckwheat, millet, alfalfa, and some strains of beans and peas.

Ralph W. Moss, one the worlds leading cancer researchers, talks about the political and scientific controversy that has surrounded laetrile in his book The Cancer Industry (Paragon House, 1989). He states, "Although spokespersons for orthodox medicine continue to deny that there have been many animal study data in favour of laetrile, this is contradicted by a number of studies, including -- but not limited to -- those at Sloan-Kettering." (Sloan-Kettering is one of the top cancer research centres in the world).

Pumpkin Seeds

There is an old folk remedy that is often taught in herbal medicine that pumpkin seeds can help with eliminating parasites. Elizabeth Lipsky details it in her book Digestive Wellness (McGraw Hill 2011). The theory is that the pumpkin seeds paralyze the bugs and then, with the introduction of a mild natural laxative, they are eliminated. One of my students mentioned that, on her farm, they give pumpkin seeds to their animals to help with parasite removal. There could be something to this!

Papaya Seeds

Papain is an enzyme found in the seeds of a papaya. It works by breaking down the membranes of parasites, ultimately causing them to die. Eating about 1/4 cup of papaya everyday for 10 days has been shown to help with the elimination of parasites.

Global Seed Vault: In the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, about 1,300 kilometres from the North Pole, there's a global seed vault. The vault houses a wide variety of seeds to preserve the genetics in case of a global crisis. They did this from an understanding that seeds are the key to life for the whole planet.